Why I’m going on the World Race

My name is Jackson. I am a child of God, and I am a follower of Jesus Christ. That’s me, and over the course of these blogs, you will probably get to know me more than you ever did. Currently, the only subscribers I have to this blog are my parents, so hi, Momma, and Daddy. But as more of you come to read about my journey, I welcome you, and I am very thankful you are here with me. God has been leading me through a journey for a long time, and He is working through everything for me. Yet now, He is leading me to something much greater. He has revealed something in me that I can only express as His love. I am discovering a lot about this and learning how to love Him. What is really cool, though, is that y’all are on this journey with me! Y’all are discovering all of this at the same time I am, and I get to write it all out on this blog, and you can watch me learn and grow in Christ. How amazing is that! I think it’s pretty cool. But more importantly, I am just thankful to have a group of people who have a love of Christ and are called to support me in this journey. Thank you.

So, seriously, what is this next chapter in my life? I’ve given you enough time to think about it, you got an answer? I’m just kidding. There’s no way you could tell me before I even post this blog. If you can’t tell, I like to joke around. But in all seriousness, I would really like to talk to you about why I am going on this journey and what it all means.

When I first said yes to the World Race, I said yes to Jesus. I said yes to leaving everything I have ever known behind to follow Him. That’s what faithfulness means. I am willing to leave everything for Him because He is more than anything in life. I remember the exact moments in my life that led me to this moment, but if there is one thing to know about me, it is that I am a bit of a storyteller. So, hold tight; I’ve got a story to share.

I surrender…

“To surrender your life to Him is to gain your life forever.”

This is a philosophy I have lived by my entire life. Growing up, reading the Bible and hearing stories of sacrifice and surrender resonated with me. Now, this philosophy is at the forefront of my thoughts. It has led me to something amazing, and I would like to share it with you.

This all began a couple of months ago when I started my senior year of college. It was a troubled time for me. It started really low; I was “walking in the valley,” so to speak. When I have experienced times like that in the past, I have always referred back to Psalm 139:8, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” Meaning that if I lay in the highest of heaven or the lowest of depths or valleys, God is always with me. So, even though I was at a very low point in my life, I knew God was always there. During that time, I received good counsel, and I prayed. I spent time developing a deeper relationship with God and listened to hear where he was calling me. But over time, I found myself using school and work to direct my path more than what I thought God wanted me to do. I began to see what my future could hold, and I was excited. I had opportunities to go to graduate school abroad that would allow me to discover a new part of myself. I wanted this because I wanted to lose what I had here so I could find the life God wanted for me there, which is what seemed right at the time. To lose your life for Him is to gain your life through Him. But as I spoke and thought deeply about this want in my life, I realized that I wasn’t really sacrificing anything for Him; I was doing it for me. So, I thought more about the plans I was making: why would studying abroad help me find God or help me find who I am to God? I spent time in prayer, and while I really had no idea what God was calling me to, I began to realize that it was bigger than just going to graduate school.

I had heard about the World Race from an old friend who had a similar story to what I was currently going through. To say the least, it sparked something in me. The World Race had stayed in the back of my mind for a long time, and when I thought about sacrifice and surrender, this felt like that. With everything I heard I would be doing, I was excited at the fact that I would be doing this with God and truly laying my entire life down for Him! When I realized that maybe graduate school wasn’t for me, I thought that the World Race was what God could be calling me to.

But I still had my doubts. Heck, I still have my doubts. I called some people at the World Race in December and asked them about a few of my biggest concerns, like, “How would I afford this trip.” “What if I want to back out?” “What if I want to jump in?” I just asked the big questions. And once I got my answers. I still doubted. “What if this isn’t right for me?” “What if God is calling me to something different?” I mean I know I could feel that this is what God was calling me to, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am human and I am going doubt. So I got back to school and went back to church and I started praying. I needed God. I needed Him to show me His ways and to show me His heart. So, I prayed for discernment and prayed for strength in my times of need. But one thing I wish I did more of was to surrender it to Him. Surrender the fear, surrender the control, surrender it all.  And then I did. And once I did, once I surrendered, He answered my prayers.

Okay, it’s time for a backstory. God has called me to many things over my life, and each of them gave me more strength and faith in God. One part of my life, in particular, is at Camp Don Lee. I started going here when I was around 13 because my parents saw what was happening to me in middle school, like bullying and such. So I would go to this week-long, sleep-away, sailing Christian camp. I didn’t know anybody there. Not a soul. But I found who God was calling me to be. At that place, I would experience God on a more personal level than I ever had. I would come back changed, and each year I went, I grew into who God was shaping me into. In my last year of going there, I was part of a leadership program called Leaders In Training. I was so excited to be a part of this and was so ready to experience whatever God had in store for me. But on my first night there, we spent the night in the middle of the woods, not knowing where we were. We had been taken to a place no one knew where and camped out. It was fun until the morning came, and we had to carry all our gear and cooking supplies and walk a mile and a half back to camp. We then used the rest of our early morning to do swim workouts and run. Usually, I am all for this, but at this particular time, I was not expecting any of it and was not mentally or physically prepared. I felt like maybe this was not for me.

Now, you’re probably wondering why I am telling you this, and it’s because of what happened right after that first morning that made me understand why this was so important. After we had finished walking back and working out, it was still only 7:00 a.m. Just in time for the sunrise. We were told we would do workouts every morning, and after our workouts, we would have devotional time. This particular morning was the first morning, and I was ill. I had no idea what was happening, and I doubted at that moment why I was even doing this, why was I sacrificing the freedom of the summer of my Senior year to do this, to be here, surrounded by no one I knew in the middle of no where for what?  But then, as  I watched the sunrise over the vast Neuse River, I realized that God was with me and that even in this time of struggle, He was going to use me, build me, and shape me into who He calls me to be. I don’t know if I realized it then, but I sure realize it now. The struggle is what makes going to Him even better. The pain is what makes His healing that much greater. Over the next 4 weeks in that program, God used me to transform people’s lives. He transformed me into becoming the leader I am today. Looking back now, all the experiences I had at that camp have given me a great opportunity to use them during this trip, which I now know is what God has called me as the next chapter of my life, serving as a Missionary with the World Race.

I have made a decision to follow Jesus where I am called to be. I am called to serve Him in His ministry and to serve His people. I am called to seek a relationship with him, one of discipleship and ministry. He has called me to share the Gospel and to share His love with everyone who has ears to hear. He has called me to follow Him. So I have picked up my mat, dropped my life in His hands, and started following.

This is the World Race. This is where God has called me to go, and I will follow Him wherever He leads me.

I surrender all.